NJ Justices Say Insanity Defense Requires Expert Testimony

By Parker Quinlan

New Jersey's highest court ruled Monday that to raise an insanity or diminished mental capacity defense, a defendant must present testimony from a medical expert that their mental condition caused them to violate the law.

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NJ Panel Revives Bank's Greenbaum Rowe Malpractice Suit

By George Woolston

First Bank's legal malpractice suit against Greenbaum Rowe Smith & Davis LLP over a botched loan for a Lexus dealership was revived by a Garden State appeals court Monday, with the panel ruling that the trial court should not have barred the bank's expert report.

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Sandoz Settles States' Generics Price-Fixing Cases For $450M

By Matthew Perlman

Sandoz reached a settlement with a coalition of state enforcers on Monday, agreeing to pay $450 million to end claims against it in several cases targeting alleged price-fixing in the generic-drug industry.

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NJ Panel Affirms Ex-Cop's Conviction In Husband's Killing

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey appellate panel on Monday upheld the aggravated manslaughter conviction of a former police officer who fatally shot his husband, finding that any errors related to testimony about alcohol and firearms or jury instructions did not deprive him of a fair trial.

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ADP Will Pay $48M To 401(k) Plan Participants In ERISA Suit

By Carla Baranauckas

Payroll processing company ADP will pay $48 million to end class claims that it allowed underperforming investment options in its employees' 401(k) plan, according to a motion for preliminary approval of the settlement filed in New Jersey federal court.

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NJ Court Orders New Trial Over Testimony Playback Rule

By Parker Quinlan

A New Jersey appeals court on Monday ordered a new trial for a man convicted of driving on a suspended license, ruling that a jury was incorrectly instructed that to replay portions of a witness's testimony, the jury would need to take a unanimous vote to rehear the evidence.

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Analysis

How State SG Offices Became A Judicial Pipeline

By Cara Bayles

The rapid growth of Missouri's solicitor general's office illustrates the import of top state appellate roles, which offer young lawyers a chance to gain courtroom experience they might never acquire in BigLaw. The gig is also, for young conservatives especially, one of the fastest paths to the federal bench.

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ABA To Assess Aggressive BigLaw Campus Recruitment

By Emily Sawicki

The American Bar Association's policymaking body on Monday approved a resolution sponsored by law students seeking reprieve from increasingly early BigLaw recruitment drives and clarified rules regarding client confidentiality and prosecutorial responsibility, some of the first votes taken on day one of its annual meeting.

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Feds Lose Bid To End Redlining Order For Lakeland Bank

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal judge has declined to sign off on the conclusion of a $13 million redlining deal between Lakeland Bank and the U.S. Department of Justice, ruling that the bank's existing compliance with the deal does not justify its early termination.

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AGs, WGA Want April Merger Trial, Paramount Wants Nov.

By Bryan Koenig

Paramount Skydance Corp. battled over trial timing Friday as the Writers Guild of America and state attorneys general challenge its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., in a joint California federal court brief where the plaintiffs sought April 2027 proceedings and the companies proposed a November kickoff.

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25 States Sue Trump Over 3rd Round Of Global Tariffs

By Rachel Riley

California, Arizona and 23 other states sued the Trump administration in the U.S. Court of International Trade on Monday claiming the president is trying for a third time to impose illegal tariffs against nearly all the country's trading partners, this time under the cover of federal law meant to combat forced labor.

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21 States Again Fight ACA Changes That Could Increase Costs

By Gina Kim

A coalition of 21 states sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in California federal court Friday, challenging an Affordable Care Act rule that shifts costs onto enrollees while reimposing certain provisions that a Maryland federal court vacated for being unlawful and arbitrary.

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NJ Supreme Court Ruling Exposes D&O Gaps For PE Boards

The New Jersey Supreme Court's recent decision in Mist Pharmaceuticals v. Berkley Insurance, barring directors and officers coverage, serves as a cautionary tale for private equity executives serving in overlapping roles at sponsor and portfolio companies, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

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DOJ Renews Bid To Oust Susman From ABA Trump EO Case

By Jared Foretek

The U.S. Department of Justice renewed its call for a D.C. federal judge to disqualify Susman Godfrey LLP from representing the American Bar Association in its challenge to the Trump administration's law firm executive orders, saying Susman Godfrey's attorneys could potentially have to serve as fact witnesses in the case.

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Jackson Walker, Trustee Agree On $15M Romance Settlement

By Emma Cueto

Jackson Walker LLP has agreed to pay $15 million and reform its conflicts and disclosure practices to resolve claims brought by the regional U.S. trustee regarding bankruptcy fees approved by a bankruptcy judge who was at the time concealing a relationship with a Jackson Walker partner.

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Simpson Thacher's PIPE Work Was 'Dogged,' Jury Told

By Jake Maher

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP did all it could to help Patriot National Inc. and the company's owner and warn them about risks as they pursued a financing deal, a former capital markets attorney told a Florida state jury Monday in the insurance services company's malpractice case against the firm.

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Blanche's Nix Of Trump's $1.8B Fund Wins Over GOP Sens.

By Asha Glover

Two holdout GOP senators said Monday that they would support confirmation of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the permanent role after he gave assurances that President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, created as part of a settlement with the IRS, would not move forward.

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Conn. Justices Order Education For Atty Who Missed AI Flubs

By Christine DeRosa

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ordered a GLG Law LLC attorney to complete continuing education after finding that seven errors in filings caused by ChatGPT stemmed from negligence in the use of new technology, not from an intentional attempt to deceive or mislead the court.

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Brief

Judge Denies Bid To Oust Kirkland From Trade Secret Feud

By Ivan Moreno

A California federal judge has denied a healthcare software company's attempt to disqualify Kirkland & Ellis LLP from representing Commure Inc. in a trade secret lawsuit, ruling that the plaintiff failed to prove that information it disclosed during a prospective client consultation was materially harmful enough to warrant disqualification.

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Disputes Continue, 1 Week Into NY Public Defender Strikes

By Andrea Keckley

Two unions representing hundreds of New York public defenders remain on strike Monday, with managers from the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem requesting third-party mediation during their most recent negotiations on Sunday.

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Roundup

The Top In-House Hires Of July

By Michele Gorman

Legal department hires during the past month included high-profile appointments at Goldman Sachs, Coinbase and Sanofi. Here, Law360 Pulse looks at some of the top in-house announcements from July.

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Monthly Merger Review Snapshot

By Matthew Perlman

A group of state enforcers challenged Paramount's planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, as a separate group of states and DirecTV accused Nexstar of violating an order preventing it from integrating with Tegna and the Federal Trade Commission faced a bench trial seeking to block a constructive adhesive deal.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week tackled disputes involving merger litigation, insider trading allegations, books and records demands, advancement proceedings, fiduciary duties, public benefit corporations and more.

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